HTTYD: Reflections
by jawmax
Summary: This is the story of a young dragon named Toothless who didn't fit in and how his life changed when he met viking. When roles are reversed from the movie what will happen?
1. The Raid

HTTYD: Reflections

1: The Raid

We open to a volcanic island just before dawn. "_This is Snag, it's a twelve days north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's just due west of the Meridian of Misery_." Zoom into a group of caves near a forest. "_My Rookery, in a word sturdy; it's been here for seven generations but every den is new. We have hunting and fishing and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests."_ Scene shifts to a pair of elk one of which hit with an arrow. _"While most places have bears or wolves we have…"_ Deer run in front of a cave and a Viking runs toward you with a sword as Toothless rolls a large bolder in front of the entrance. "…Vikings!" Toothless said.

"_Most reptiles would leave. Not us, we're Dragons; we have stubbornness issues."_ Toothless then runs outside to a battle between the Dragons and the Vikings _"My names' Toothless, great name I know. But it's not the worst. Most parents believe that a name should reflect something about the kid and they would strike fear into gnomes or trolls; like our charming Dragon demeanor wouldn't do that."_ A large horned Dragon roared at Toothless. "Morning." it then said.

Toothless continued to run as other dragons said thing like. "What are you doing here? Get back inside!" and "What are you doing outside?" others just looked on the battle like it was nothing even taking time to preen.

"Toothless!" A larger black dragon like Toothless but with red eyes grabbed him by the neck. "What he is doing out again?" the female dragon asked someone. "What are you doing out? Get back inside!" she said. _"That's Shadowgale the Swift, Alpha of the tribe. They say that when she was a hatchling she split a Viking in two with a swing of her tail. Do I believe it? Yes I do."_

Shadowgale spat a fireball at the ax of a Viking who then ran away. "What do we got?" she asked a Dragon. "Choppers, Crushers, Long Stabs, oh and Gral saw a Spiked Smasher." The dragon said. "Any Flash Slashes?" Shadowgale asked. "None so far." Was what the Dragon said. "Good."

Toothless flew up to a cave. "How nice of you to join the party." A Boneknapper said to him as he was clawing at some stones in the wall. "I thought you've been dragged off."

"Who me? No I'm way too muscular for them. They would know what to do with all this." Toothless said flexing as he began to dig. Toothless was skinny compared to other Dragons his age.

"Well they need belts don't they?" The Boneknapper with a broken horn and a claw missing from his toe said.

"_The meathead with attitude and bones all over is Lockjaw. I've been his Fire Rock digger apprentice since I was little…well littler."_

"Move to the southern defenses we'll counter attack with fire streams." Shadowgale ordered. Just then some Vikings ran out of a cave with baskets of fire rocks as it caved in.

"_See old Rookery, lots and lots of new dens."_

"Cave in!" A yell came.

A bunch of young Dragons ran in with tree trunks trying to keep a cave from collapsing across from Toothless. The Dragons came in this order; A Gronkle, a Monstrous Nightmare, Hideous Zippleback and a Deadly Nadder.

"_That's Slugcrunch, Hotfoot."_ _"The sisters that share a body; Bite and Scratch, we call them BitenScratch. And…"_ Then in a loving tone Toothless says. _"Rose._ _Their job is so much cooler than mine."_ He says as they step out of a cloud of dust.

Toothless tries to sneak when Lockjaw grabs his tail with his mouth. "Oh come on just let me out there. I need to make my mark."

"You've made plenty of marks all in the wrong places."

"Please two minutes. I'll kill a Viking; my life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date." Toothless whined.

"You can't crush a rock in your jaws, your claws don't cut through their metal shells, and you always miss when you breathe a fireball." Lockjaw then tossed a rock out to a Dragon that swallowed it then shot a fireball at a Viking with a hammer.

"Yeah but this will make sure I don't miss."Toothless said putting on a group of twigs tied together with vine in a circle in front of his eyes. He then spat a fireball which hit a passing dragon in the face and knocked him out.

"You see. Now this right here is what I'm talking about!" Lockjaw said.

"It just needs a small adjustment." Toothless said.

"Look Toothless, if you want to get out there and fight Vikings you need to stops all of this." He said spreading his wings over Toothless.

"But you just gestured to all of me."

"Yes that's it exactly. Stop being all of you."

"You are playing a dangerous game sir. Keeping all this raw Dragon strength contained, there will be consequences!"

"I'll take my chances. More Fire Stones now."

"_One day I'll get out there. Because killing a Viking is everything around here."_

Some Viking with axes chased some Terrible Terrors. _"We call Vikings by the tools they use when they fight us. The Chop Chopper is a favorite of theirs, biting a head off one of them will at least get me noticed."_ Hammer wielding Vikings tried to break into a sealed den. _"The ones that use Crushers are though. Taking down one of those will at least get me a girlfriend."_ Other Vikings were throwing Bolos and Spears. _"Tangle Stones and Long Stabs are among the few that can strike from a distance; twice the danger, double the status". _

"They're going after another herd!" Shadowgale was told. "Concentrated your fire on the lower bank". She ordered. Then a Viking with a mace jumped in front of her._ "Then there's the Spiked Smasher, only the toughest of the tough go after them because the Vikings who use then have a nasty habit of swinging at everything in sight."_ "Get more stones I'll handle this." Shadowgale then swipe her claw at the Viking.

"_But the ultimate prize is the Viking with a tool unlike any other, one that has never been seen. We call it the…" _"Flash Slash!" The shine off the blade was the only warning sign the Dragons ever get. Then after a slashing sound a bunch of trees began to fall toward Shadowgale and the other Dragons. "Run!" She yelled. _"This thing never steals anything, never shows it's self…"_ The tree crashed with a thunderous sound. _"…and it never misses. No one has ever killed a Flash Slash. That's why I'll be the first."_

"Dragon the hole Toothless, they need me out there." Lockjaw said. "Stay, put, there. You know what I mean." He then roared and flew off. Of course Toothless left as soon as Lockjaw was out of sight.

Some Dragons sprayed sticky green goo at some Vikings. "Keep it up they still have some fight left. If all goes well we'll be having Viking for Breakfast." Shadowgale said.

Toothless then reached an isolated spot getting his new target guide ready. "Come on. Give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at." He saw the light gleaming of something in the distance. He fired. Then a scream of pain was heard as he saw a Viking fall down a far away hill. "I hit it! Yes I hit it! Did anyone see that?" Then a Spiked Smasher growled at him from behind. "Anyone but you?"

"Help!" Toothless ran as fast as he could. The Smasher corned him with a high cliff above him.

"Not again. Don't let them escape!" Shadowgale flew to save Toothless with speed that lets you know why they called her the swift. Toothless dodged strikes that were cracking the stone behind him. Shadowgale knocked the weapon out of The Vikings hand. "You got nothing left." The Viking ran as water burst from the wall and washed the other Viking straight to their ships after which the unfurled the sails and rowed as fast as they could with all the meat and stones they took. Shadowgale had an angry look on her face.

"_There's one more thing you should know."_

"Sorry Mom." Toothless said as the other Dragons gathered around.

"You're in big trouble this time Toothless." A Dragon like Shadowgale and Toothless said. She had yellow eyes and was as big as a medium sized dog.

"Thanks sis, you know you've been a pain in my tail since you hatched right?"

"Toothless do not speak to Moonstar like that!" His mother growled.

"Ok sorry, but I hit Flash Slash." Shadowgale then began to drag Toothless by the wing. "It's not like the other times Mom. I had a very clear shot. It fell somewhere in the wooded valley let's get a search party out there and…"

"Stop! Just stop. Every time you step outside disaster falls. Can you not see I have bigger problems here? Winter is almost here and I have a whole Rookery to shelter for hibernation!"

"Well between you and me the Rookery could use a little less hibernating don't you think?" Toothless nodded to a couple of Dragons that were yawning.

"This isn't a joke Toothless, even your little sister can follow orders why can't you?"

"I can't help it. I see a Viking and I just got to kill it." He made a motion like he was twisting a Vikings head off. "It's who I am Mom."

"You are a lot of things son but a Viking killer just isn't one of them. Go home." The she turned to Lockjaw. "Make sure he gets there. Moonstar come with me, we have his mess to clean up."

They walk passed the cave-in team.

"Quite the performance." Bite laughed.

"I never seen anyone mess up that badly and helped." Hotfoot said.

"Thank you, I was trying." Toothless said. Then Lockjaw slammed his tail on red Dragon giving the young one a head ache.

Rose just gave a look like "Why do you even bother?"

In front of Toothless' family den he talked to Lockjaw. "I really did hit one."

"Sure you did." Lockjaw said sarcastically.

"She never listens."

"Runs in the family."

"And even when she does it's always with this disappointed scowl on her face like someone gave her an underfed elk." He then imitated his mother's voice. "Excuse me sever! I believe you brought me the wrong egg! I asked for an extra large male with sharp fangs and fast powerful legs with extra guts and glory on the side. This here? This is a winged fish bone!"

"Now you're thinking about this all wrong. It's not what you look like. It's what's inside she can't stand."

"Thank you for summing that up."

"The point is stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Lockjaw said really trying to make him feel better.

"I just want to be one of you guys." Toothless said before he rolled the boulder in front of his den, a few minutes later her popped out of a back burrow exit.

Author's Notes: The Dragons and Vikings have roughly the same level of technology as they did in the movie. I just gave the Dragons the ability to make things with very simple materials like stones and plants.


	2. Meetings

2-Meetings

"Either we finish them or they'll finish us!" Shadowgale was at the bottom of the meeting pit. In front of her was a model of Snag and the surrounding sea made of rocks, twigs and leaves. "It's the only way we'll be rid of them! If we find the village and destroy it the Vikings will leave, they'll find another home." She said crushing a Viking shaped figure over a place they called the Sea of Mists. One more search before the ice sets in."

The other Dragons at the higher levels of the pit looked down in doubt. "Most scouts never come back." One Dragon said. "We're Dragons; facing danger is in our blood." Shadowgale quoted an old Dragon motto. "Now those of you with me raise your tails." But none did. "Alright, those who stay will look after Toothless. Then every tail shot up. "I knew it." The Alpha said with a toothy smile.

Lockjaw swallowed some kind of meat. "All right I'll bring my extra bones." He said. "No I need you to stay here and train some new recruits." Shadowgale said flying up to her old friend. "Oh, and while I'm busy Toothless can mind the mine. Molten lava, sharp pointy rocks, plenty of time to himself; what could possibly go wrong?"

"What am I going to do with him Lockjaw?" Shadowgale sighed.

"Put him in training with the others."

"No I'm serious."

"So am I."

"He'd be killed before you let the first Viking out of its cell."

"Oh, you don't know that."

"I do."

"No you don't."

"Actually I do."

"No you don't!"

Shadowgale got up. As she talked a small bone falls off of Lockjaw's chest plate. "Listen, you know what he's like. He never listens; he has the attention span of a sparrow. I take him fishing and he goes hunting for…for Trolls!"

Lockjaw puts the bone back in place just before he speaks. "Trolls exist! They put these funny little things on your feet but only on the left feet. What's up with that?"

"When I was his age my father told me to hit my head against a rock. I thought he was crazy but I did it. And you know what happened?"

"You got a head ache."

"The rock shattered! It showed me what a Dragon can do! We can crush Mountains, level forests, tame the skies! Even as girl I knew what I was what I had to become. Toothless is not that child."

"You can't stop him Shadowgale, you can only prepare him. I know it seems hopeless but the truth is you are not always going to be there to protect him. He's going to get out there again. He's probably out there now.

Toothless landed by the dirt map he made and crossed out another spot. Upset wiped away the whole map and walked into the forest. "Oh the ancestors hate me. Some Dragons lose a Fire Rock or an herb. Not me I lose an entire Viking!" Toothless hit a branch with his wing that swung back and hit him in the eye; when he stopped relying from the sting he saw cuts in the trees and small red pools that had a familiar smell from raids, Viking blood. There, pinned under a pile of large branches that fallen from rot lay reddish brown haired Viking male. This had to be the Flash Slash. Only his head and chest were above the branches. The young dragon ducked behind a large tree and looked to see the Viking had not moved. He popped out his teeth into plain view and extended his claws. He moved closer the mammal. "Wow, I did it. This…this fixes everything! Yes! I have brought down this mighty beast!" Toothless said as he put one of his front paws on the chest of his prize he heard it groan and felt its chest rise as it breathed. He took a few steps back and saw that the Viking's steely green eyes were opened.

Nervously Toothless raised his claw. "I'm going to kill you Viking. I'm going to claw out your heart and take it to my mother. I'm a Dragon. I'm a Dragon!" The Viking closed his eyes, seemingly to be resigned to his fate. But Toothless put his paw down; something was wrong about ending this creature's life. "I did this." He said his voice heavy with guilt. At first he turned to walk away but he just couldn't leave.

The Viking opened his eyes to the sound of wood being moved, Toothless pulling and pushing of the braches. The Viking suddenly jumped up and pushed Toothless on his back, a sword like blade on his fist pointed at the Dragon and a murderous look in his eyes. "YAAAAAAAARRRRRGGG!" It screamed and then limped and stumbled off in to woods. Toothless rolled over and got up and turned toward home. It wasn't three steps before he fainted.

Later Shadowgale was tending a fire in her den made much like a campfire only her breath gave it life. Moonstar was asleep in the nest in the back of the den. Toothless had rolled the stone away the sun setting. Her son tried to sneak past her to his chamber knowing that she would not understand what happened to him today. "Toothless".

He turned and faced his mother knowing that she had been right about him all along and he had to tell her that he would have to give up trying to fit into the Rookery."Mom! I have to talk to you mom."

"I have to speak to you too, son." She said stand on her hind legs.

"I've decided I don't want fight Vikings." Toothless said.

At the same time Shadowgale said. "I think it's time you learn how to fight Vikings."

"What?" they boy said.

"Uh, you go first." Shadowgale said.

"No, no you go first." Toothless said.

"Alright, you got your wish. Viking Training you start in the morning."

"Oh man, I should have gone first. You know I've been thinking and we got a surplus of Viking fighting Dragons but do have enough wood gathering Dragons or medicinal herb foraging Dragons?"

"Moonstar come here just how I told you, when I told you about your older brothers training." Moonstar crawled out of the nest and her and her mother moved behind Toothless.

"I don't want to fight Vikings."

"Come on, yes you do."

"It's all you ever talked about." Moonstar said.

"Rephrase, Mom I can't kill Vikings!" Toothless pleaded.

"But you will kill Vikings." Shadowgale

"No, I'm really extra sure I won't."

"It's time Toothless."

"Can you not hear me?"

Then Shadowgale and Moonstar pressed against Toothless' back. "This is serious son when you walk out there you're not just carrying me and your sister, you're carrying all of us with you." Then they got off and Shadowgale faced her son. "Which means you walk like us, you talk us, you think like us. No more of this." She unfolded her paws, palms facing up.

"You just gestured to all of me."

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided."

"Deal?"

"Deal." Toothless said defeated.

Shadowgale nuzzled both her children. "Good, Toothless train hard, look after your sister. Moonstar mind your brother and don't wander too far home without one of your elders. I'll be back… probably."

"And I'll be here… maybe."

"You're going to get cut to pieces aren't you?" Moonstar said. Her voice didn't sound it but she was worried, for both her mother and brother.

In the woods the Flash Slash was getting ready. He took his belt and tightened it as much as he could around his knee. He got a stick and put it in his mouth and inched closer to the small fire he made. He wished he had some mead to dull the pain that was about to come but this had to be done. His left leg was burned, bleeding, and most likely infected. He had no other choice if he was going to survive. He took his blade and began to cut, biting down hard on the stick. When he was done he screamed as the moon rose.

Author's note: Wow, two chapters in one day though I worked on most of the first one yesterday. And yes the things trolls put on dragon feet are the socks they steal.


	3. First Day of Training

3-First Day of Training

"Welcome to Viking Training!" Lockjaw said.

The young cave-in squad walked into the large ring, the sense of anticipation and new beginning in the air. The ring was in a large brown stone cavern with cracks in the ceiling let sunlight in. Big stone slabs covered the cells where the Viking captives were kept. Each slab had log tied to it at the top; the instructors would fly up holding the slab to release the Viking. The slab would then be hooked over a pair of stalagmites. Larger tilted stalagmites kept the Vikings in the ring. Rose took in all that was in front of her. "No turning back." She said as walked in the others right behind her.

"I hope I get some serious bruises." Bite said.

"I hoping for some cuts, like my shoulder or back leg." Scratch said.

"Yeah it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Rose said agreeing with sparking head of the sisters. Though she thought only that a scar shows how hard it was and you did it anyway.

"Yeah, no kidding right? Pain, love it!" Toothless said sarcastically.

"Oh, great; who let him in?" Bite said blowing some gas at Toothless.

"Alright let's get started!" Lockjaw said steeping in from behind the Dragon teens. "The recruit who does best will get the honor of killing his or her first Viking in front of the whole Rookery." Lockjaw made head ripping motion and then spread his wings out to emphasize that there would be an audience.

"Toothless already killed a Flash Slash so does that disqualify him or…?" Hotfoot joked. Most of the other laughed. "Can I transfer to the class with the cool Dragons or something?"

Lockjaw put his wing around Toothless. "Don't worry, you're small and weak, that makes you less of a target. They'll think you're sick or insane and go after the more Dragon-like teens instead." Lockjaw then stepped in front of the cells. The sound of the Viking tools hitting the stone on the other side could be heard. They were ready to be let out and kill their captors. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many kinds of Vikings you will learn to fight, the Chop Chopper."

"Speed eight, cutting strength sixteen." Slugcrunch said recounting facts he read about.

"The Long Stab."

"Piercing power eleven, range times two."

"The Spiked Smasher."

"Striking power fifteen."

"The Ankle Biter."

"Attack level six, bite probability twelve."

"Will you stop that?"Lockjaw shouted. Then he flapped up to the next stones log. "And the Crusher."

"Impact strength eight." Slugcrunch whispered to Toothless.

Hotfoot looked scared. "Whoa, whoa; aren't you going to teach us first?"

"I believe in learning on the job." Lockjaw said just before he flew up lifting the stone. Out came running a wide Viking male with a small helmet, covered in fur and swinging a hammer. He screamed at the top of his lungs. The young Dragons split up trying not to die. The Crusher crashed into a wall. "Today is about survival. Is you get hit in a vital area you're dead." Lockjaw explained. "Quick, what's the first thing you need to do?"

"Hide?" Toothless asked.

"Increase fire power by five?" Slugcrunch asked.

"Fly!" Rose answered.

"Fly! Go!" toothless was having trouble getting enough speed to fly until Lockjaw gave him a push. "The most import advantage you have is that you can fly above them. If you have to choose between getting hit in your legs or your wings then get hit in the legs."

"Left! It won't expect us to come in on its tool side." Bite told her sister as they hovered.

"No right! There more room to move that way!" Scratch said. As they argued their neck twisted around each other and the Crusher managed to hit them in the side.

"BitenScratch you're out." Lockjaw said.

"What?" the sisters asked.

"While fire is our most powerful offensive attack your breath is good for another thing; stink. Make a lot of it to disorient the Viking and throw off the speed and timing of his attack." The teens followed Lockjaw's advice and let out as mush of the green gas as they could. The Crusher got dizzy and his swings got slower. "Every Viking tool has a limited range as long as it's not thrown. What range is Crushers?"

"Two?" Hotfoot asked.

"No, three!" Slugcrunch said.

"Correct that about as close as he is to you now." Lockjaw said just before Slugcrunch got hit in the tail. "Slugcrunch out." Slugcrunch flew scared. "Toothless get in there!" Toothless crawled out behind a pile of Fire Rocks.

Hotfoot was talking to Rose not seeing that the Crusher was coming closer. "So anyway I just moved into my parent's firewood cave next hole over. You should come by some time and workout; you look like you workout." Rose did a flying somersault just before Hotfoot got hit in the chest.

"Hotfoot you're done." Lockjaw said.

Rose landed next to Toothless. "I guess it's just you and me huh?" Toothless said.

"No, just you." Rose said as she took off and did a barrel roll. The Viking jumped on Toothless' back ready to crack his head open.

"Toothless!" Lockjaw said just before he grabbed the Viking with his mouth the Crusher barley missing and cracking the floor. "And that's range four. Go back to sleep you overfed bear! You'll get another chance; don't you worry." Lockjaw threw the Crusher into its cell and unhooked the slab with his tail. Remember a Viking will always…" He leaned in close to Toothless. "…always, go for the kill." Toothless looked down at the new cracks.

"So why didn't you?" He asked later back at the spot where he let the Flash Slash go. He walked to a sloping valley the hill sides covered with gravel hopping to find it again. "Well this is stupid." He said believing that the Viking was long gone. Then he looked down to see dried puddles of blood. Then to his right Toothless saw the Flash Slash try to crawl up the hill and slipping down. Toothless flew to the next closest cliff to have a better look. Seeing the Viking trying to crawl up again Toothless took a piece of bark and with one claw etched the shape of the fearsome creature. "Why don't you just walk up the hill?" he asked himself then he noticed that that the left leg of the Viking was shorter than the right one where he must have hit it. He then saw the Viking try to stand and grab some berries hang off a branch but falling. He made a mental note that plants could b something else the Flash Slash could eat; Toothless then scratched out half of the left leg on the bark but then sound of the craving got the attention of the Viking below. All it did was look at Toothless with equal curiosity.

Rain; Dragons hated rain storms, especially at night making it harder to find their way. Toothless walked to the watering cavern a place where Dragons gather to have a drink from an underground spring and met with friends under fire light. His classmates and Lockjaw were already there. "Alright where did Rose go wrong today?" Lockjaw asked.

"I miss-timed my somersault dodge; it threw off my landing." Rose said disappointed.

"Yeah, we noticed BitenScratch said together sarcastically.

"No, no, you were great. It was so Rose." Hotfoot said trying to make her feel better.

"She's right. You do have to be tough on yourselves. Where did Toothless go wrong?" Lockjaw said as he saw Toothless take a drink.

"Uh, he showed up." Scratch said.

"He didn't get his skull crushed." Bite said.

"He's never where he's supposed to be." Rose said then she took a drink. Toothless got a depressed look on his face being berated by the girl he liked.

"Thank you Rose. You need to live and breathe this stuff." Lockjaw said. Then he uncoiled part of his tail dropping a book made of tree bark held together by three rings of vine. "The Viking Manual. Everything we know about Vikings and Viking tools we know of." Then Lockjaw looked up hearing the wind blow faster and harder. "The winds changed, which means it will be difficult for them to sail. No attacks tonight, study up." He then began to leave.

"What? You mean read?" Bite asked.

"While we're still alive?" Scratch said.

"Why read words when you can eat the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Hotfoot asked.

Slugcrunch got excited. "I read it like about seven times there this thing they use in that shoots pointed sticks at you with and there this other one with a small blade that…"

"That's great. There was a chance I was going to read that." Bite said to shut Slugcrunch up.

"But now…" Scratch said disinterested.

"You guys read. I'll go burn stuff." Hotfoot said.

Slugcrunch tried to follow the two Dragons that got up and left just leaving Toothless and Rose. "So I guess we'll share…" Toothless said before he got interrupted.

"Read it." Rose said as she got up and left.

"Great all mine then. Wow so I'll see you tomorrow." Toothless said but he did have to go home and look after Moonstar. So he picked up the book and brought it home.

"Wow you're still alive!" Moonstar said. "Keep this up and you might make a decent Dragon in a hundred years."

"Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" Toothless said annoyed.

"I don't want to go to sleep; besides I'm too big to sleep in the nest and you know it." Moonstar said defiantly.

"Look Mom left me in charge."

"The only mistake I've ever known her to make."

"Still, I'm in charge and you're supposed to go to sleep after the sun goes down." Then a very small fireball hit Toothless in the face.

"I'm not sleeping in that nest!"

"You're still little and that was your only shot. I may not be as big or as strong as the others but I'm still a lot bigger than you! Now go to sleep!" Toothless yelled.

"No!" Moonstar leapt up and bit Toothless on the ear. Toothless then grabbed her with his claws and pinned her to the floor. But Moonstar was a lot stronger than she looked so she and Toothless began to roll around the chamber. "Dad would let me stay up! He would see that I'm a real Dragon not a pathetic lizard with wings like you!"

"How would you know? You never met the guy!" Hearing that Moonstar stopped fighting and began to cry because it was true; their father died before she hatched. "Hey, hey now I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry. I'm older; I need be the mature one. It's just you have no idea what it's like being the clumsy useless one."

"I…I'm sorry I said you weren't real Dragon. I know you try your best but it just seems so unfair. You're well, different but you still at least have some memories of Dad and you get go to Viking Training and stay up after dark; you even get your own chamber while Mom still makes me sleep in the same nest I did as a hatchling."

"Well, digging your own chamber is something we have to talk to Mom about when she gets back but if you go sleep now you can sleep with me in my chamber… at the other side of it though."

The tears cleared from Moonstar's eyes. "Well yeah, I don't want to catch your case of the klutz." She was her old self again as she went to Toothless' chamber. "Toothless, just so you know I think that if Mom doesn't find the village this trip, one day you really will be the first to kill a Flash Slash."

Hearing the name of the Viking he took down he remembered the book he brought. "You go to sleep Moonstar; I got to read this for class tomorrow."

"Ok, goodnight."

Toothless then lit a small flame and began to read. "Viking and tool classifications; Cut class, bash class, mystery class." He turned to the entry on one of the tools that Slugcrunch talked about. "Sting Rain, this tool can launch bladed sticks. They have been known to be poisoned and a volley from several of these Vikings can impale a Dragon all over his body. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight." There was a picture of a Dragon with arrows sticking out of his body and one of a Dragon breathing fire on a Viking with a bow. Toothless turned the page seeing a picture of a Viking throwing knives. "Flying Fang' this tool may be small but it can cut across the length of the body. Vikings can carry many of these and throw them into the eyes. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight." The next page showed a pot of boiling oil. "Black Burning, this defensive tool pours a hot burning substance that will only come off by diving in water. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight." A crash of thunder startled Toothless but he had to find what he was looking for. Next he turned a few pages to one with a picture of a pick ax. "Dig Tooth, mainly used to steal Fire Rock it can pierce a Dragon's skull, kill on sight. Crushers, Long Stabs, the Cutting Moon, Doom Thrower. Stabs its victims, chokes its victims, cuts its victims heads off." Toothless couldn't believe that one kind creature could create so my ways to cause death. And over and over the same five words were repeated. "Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight." Then he finally found the entry he was looking for but there was no picture and very little on it. "Flash Slash, Blade type unknown, Speed unknown. The Vikings who weld this are said to have ice for hearts. These unholy offsprings of lightning and death are never to be engaged. Your only chance, hide and pray it doesn't find you." Toothless place the craving he made earlier over the entry. "But I still don't get why it didn't kill me. If it is as evil as this says it wouldn't show any mercy. But it did."

Shadowgale and rest of her expedition were having trouble flying in the storm. Then in the darkness she spotted an island with a high hill. "Follow me! We'll rest this storm out and continue at sunrise." They landed at the side of the hill. "Begin digging! We need shelter for the night." Shadow gale ordered. The Dragons began to claw and bite at the hill side clearing pounds of rock every few seconds. In less than fifteen minutes they dug out three caves large enough to host their number. In her cave Shadowgale with a strong single breath turned a pile of rumble into a single smoldering stone. Just before she fell asleep she said. "Live, live Toothless. With any luck when I get back to you my children and you will never need fear Vikings again."

Author's note: I did want to expand the story a bit and the big brother, little sister element is a big difference between hiccup and Toothless. There will be other differences between stories later but I let you fin pt about them as there posted.


	4. Trying to Understand

4- Trying to Understand

The next morning the storm cleared and Shadowgale and the others were circling a fog covered ocean; the Sea of Mist. Many Dragons feared this place because there was something about it that threw of their sense of direction; often they would get so lost that they would either fall into the sea and drown from sheer exhaustion or fall prey to surprise Viking attacks. The Vikings could not have picked a better place to hide their village. "They're close; I can barely pick up their scent." Shadowgale said. After a few moments of nervous anticipation from her fellow Dragons she gave the order. "We're going in…"

"Left face!" The command was yelled among the expedition.

"...to Sea of Mists." They flew in and all was quiet but danger loomed below.

Back at Snag, Toothless couldn't get out of his mind not only the lack of information on the Viking he met but he also realized the manual only show how Vikings kill and how to kill them. It sorely lacked in how they lived. "You know, I just happen to notice that the book had nothing on Flash Slashes or how those tools are made in general. Is there another book, maybe a sequel or a little Flash Slash pamphlet?" But then Toothless had to duck to keep his head from being chopped off. The Viking was a female with blond hair and blue eyes and an ax. Though she was skinner then most Vikings Toothless seen she had a fierce attitude. The Arena had several wooden platforms today and Viking leapt from one to another.

"Focus Toothless! You're not even trying!" Lockjaw said from the outside of ring with him was the elder of the Rookery an elderly Dragon from the Far East. He was the one who would choose which recruit would face and kill their first Viking in front of the Rookery. "Today's lesson is all about attack! Since they can't fly Vikings will often try to claim the high ground in battle for a better reach. Chop Choppers strike fast and hard. Your job is to strike faster and harder."

The Chopper climbed up to the top of a platform and then jumped from Slugcrunch who dodged just in time. "I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods." He said panting.

"Get in its blind spot right behind it. All Viking have the same one. Sneak up from behind and strike." Lockjaw said licking his teeth.

BitenScratch snuck up from behind but Scratch was down wind of Bite. "Ugh, don't you ever drink after you eat?"

"If you don't like it then get you own blind spot!" Bite said.

"Hello? Joined from the neck down? How am I supposed to that?" Scratch argued. The noise was enough that the female Chopper almost solved their problem for them; by cutting them in half. They backed up just in time.

"Blind spot yes. Death spot, not so much." Lock jaw said.

"Okay, so has anyone snuck up on say Vikings doing whatever they do with our Fire Rocks?" Toothless asked.

"No one has seen what they do with them and lived to tell the tale. Now get in there!" Lockjaw shouted.

Toothless saw Rose and Hotfoot signel him over with their wings. The girl Viking was close but she was still looking for a target, while its back was turned Rose then Hotfoot made a short jump with a flap of their wings to sneak past it. When Toothless tried it he fell short and the sound of his landing got the Viking's attention. He flew up but the Chopper climbed up on another platform right in front of the other to teen Dragon's. "Watch out, sweetheart I got this." Hotfoot said to Rose. He let out a stream of fire but his target jumped to the next platform. Rose gave him a dirty look. "The sun was in my eyes Rose!" The Viking leapt for them never once slipping. "Would you like me to block out the sun? I could do that but I don't have the time right now."

The Chop Chopper lunged at Rose who sidestepped just time. The tool cut deep into the base of a platform which fell and cased a domino effect knowing down the other which for some reason got the Viking mad. Toothless however didn't notice the whole thing as he was back to questioning Lockjaw. "Has anyone ever seen them napping? I mean do they sleep in nests or holes or just on the ground?"While he was asking questions Rose landed one of the platforms only to be knocked down toward Toothless.

"Toothless!" Lockjaw shouted worried.

"Toothless, look out!" Rose shouted as the surrounding platform crashed on to the two Dragon's. Rose pushed of the splintered wood but couldn't move much farther because she and Toothless' tails were tangled together.

"Look sis love on the battlefield." Bite said looking at the scene.

"She can do much better." Scratch said.

Trying to get untangled Toothless tried to offer advice. "Let me…why don't you?" But Rose got herself untangled by kicking Toothless in the face. The she saw the Chopper had got up and was looking around. Spikes popped out of the Dragon prodigy's tail and she flung them toward the Viking. As they say every Rose has its thorns. However her adversary ducked and saw the spikes sticking out of the wall forming a ladder the she could climb out of the ring with.

So she climbed as fast as she could. "Don't let it escape!" Lockjaw said. Rose flew toward the Viking who almost made it to the top and knocked her down with the horn on her nose. The Viking got up with a heavy painful groan. "Well done Rose." Lockjaw said.

Rose then turned to Toothless. "Is this some kind of joke to you? Our parents war is about to become ours." Then she popped out more spikes and pointed them at Toothless. "Figure out which said you're on!"

She and then other walked away while Lockjaw put the female Chopper back in her cell. "I…I thought you said that Vikings always go for the kill." Toothless said.

"Well she's on odd one that Chop Chopper." Lockjaw said.

"You see young one when we keep Vikings to train the next generation they usually give up trying to escape in six full moons and only try to stay alive. That one however has been here for nearly a year and the fire inside has not dimmed in the least; it may have even grown. But she will stop attempting to escape one day or die trying." The Elder said.

Toothless was being taught how to fight the Vikings but no one was giving him the answers he was looking for. "What was a Viking really? Why do they steal our Fire Rocks if they can't use them like we do? And most importantly why did the Flash Slash spare me?" Toothless decided that the only way to get his answers was to spend more time with Vikings and since the ones in the Arena were locked up tight that left the Flash Slash. So he decided to bring a peace offering to the Flash Slash. He snuck in the cold storage cave where most of the Dragons would preserve food for the winter and got a watermelon. Toothless picked this for two reasons first he knew that the Viking ate fruit since it tried so hard to get some; second since most Dragon's didn't like eating anything other than meat this small part of the emergency reserves probably wouldn't be missed.

"Where are you going with that thing?" Moonstar asked as Toothless came out of the cave.

"It's a secret! No one needs to know about this!" Toothless whispered.

"You're up to something aren't you? Well if you don't want me to tell everyone I saw you here stealing it's going to cost you."

"What do you want?" Toothless said. He was in a hurry; that Viking was in that valley for three days with nothing to eat. He did know how much longer it would last.

"A deer." Moonstar stated.

"What? You'd never finish it. I'll get you one quail tomorrow." Toothless said raising his voice only a little bit.

"Make it five. I'm a growing girl."

"Two."

"Three, and…" Moonstar haggled. "Next time old miss Sharp Wing asks us for a preening you do yourself. No complaints."

"Okay, deal. Now I better not catch you following me or the deal's off!" Toothless said as he started for the woods.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Moonstar said happily.

Toothless return to the valley with the melon but the Viking was nowhere to be seen. He rolled the melon out but still nothing. So he stepped into plain view rolling the fruit and the object of his search crawled out from behind the rock he was hiding behind. At first it reached for the fruit by Toothless nose but The Flash Slash while injured still had an angry menacing air to it. Toothless scared showed his teeth but the Viking still growled at him. Toothless retracted his teeth, this made the Viking feel a little better but he held up his hand and made a pushing motion twice. Toothless took this as a sign to back away so he backed up two steps. With that the Vikings face seemed to change completely in to a clam and happy look as has was about to eat for the first time in days. He pulled the water melon close. Toothless took a closer look at the Vikings arms. "What no blade? But I cloud have sworn." Then a small sharp sword like blade popped out from the metal covering of the Vikings arms. "Oh." The Viking cut the melon into four slices a n greedily began to eat one however he soon bean to make a strange sound. "Oh you must have gotten the hiccups from eating too fast. Well at least I learned that Vikings can Hiccup." Toothless said.

The Viking ate two more pieces a little more slowly and then looked around. "Oh, I don't have anymore." Toothless told the Viking. Then it crawled up to Toothless and held out the last piece of the melon and looked at him eagerly. Toothless sighed ate took a bite of the fruit. He didn't like taste much. The boy across from him pointed to his neck and made a swallowing motion. Not wanting to offend him Toothless swallowed and gave a toothless smile. Toothless then leaned in to give a friendly nuzzle but the boy growled again and rolled to the other end of the valley. He gathered some leaves together and rested his head on the pile. He looked up at the trees and saw a squirrel run along a branch. He then turned to see the young Dragon had come up right beside him. The Viking rolled over and Toothless just inched himself a little closer only to see that the Viking turned again so he decided to back away for a little bit.

Later, around sunset, after seeing "Hiccup" not do much more than take a nap Toothless began to make a pile of stones out of boredom. But he felt something come closer to see the Viking look at his pile. Hiccup then began to gather stones too but instead of a pile he was arranging them in different shapes. Toothless touch one moving a stone of place which Hiccup didn't like. He moved it back and moved another one with much the same results. Toothless then began to step carefully around all the shapes holding his tail up and he dared not fly afraid a gust from his wings would knock the stones down. Twisting and turning he saw circles, squares, triangle, stars with five, six or four points, lines that connected some shapes together then the felt he backed into Hiccup kneeling on the ground. Again slowly with his eyes closed he moved in for another nuzzle and he felt the gentle touch of the boys hand against his nose. Then in his heart Toothless felt that for the first time in a long time he made a friend.

It was dark and Toothless had gone back to the Rookery he joined his classmates in listing to Lockjaw tell stories of past battles around a fire eating fish and elk. "And with one swing it took off my horn and I could see the look on its face. My horn was beautiful to it. Well it must have spread the word because it wasn't till the next full moon that another took my claw."

The others were in awe. "Isn't weird that he took you horn; like if you could move it with you mind you could kill the Viking by stabbing him in the heart or something." Slugcrunch said, waving in his mouth an antler.

"I swear I'm so angry right now! I avenge your beautiful horn and beautiful claw. I'll bite off the thieving hands of every Viking I fight! While I'm on fire!" Hotfoot said.

"It's the feet and legs you really want. If it can't run or stand it can't get away." Lockjaw said tearing a leg off his elk. "A crippled Viking is a dead Viking". Toothless then realized what he really did to Hiccup and somehow he had to make it right. Lockjaw yawned. "Well I'm going to sleep. You should too. Tomorrow we move on to the tough ones; slowly but surely your working your way up to the Spiked Smasher. But who among you will win the honor of killing it?" While the others were excited Toothless left his pile of fish and hurried home to fix his mistake. Only Rose noticed he left, but she just shrugged it off as him being upset knowing that he probably would get the honor.

Toothless entered his den only to see that Moonstar up past dark again. "Where were you? I thought you would at least want to make sure I got to sleep at sundown again. And where are the quail you promised me?" Moonstar said.

"I'll get them for breakfast for you in morning. You better go to sleep. I got work I need to do." Toothless said.

"Boy, Viking Training must be harder than I thought if you got to stay up every night to work on stuff for it."

Moonstar made her way toward Toothless' chamber when he stopped her. "Moonstar, have you ever wondered things about Vikings?"

"What kind of things? Like how they taste? Because of that macho rule only the one who killed a Viking gets to eat it?""

"No, like how do live? Why do they raid us?"

"Duh, they want our food."

"What about the Fire Rocks? And how do they make those metal tools and shells?"

"Yeah, those are some weird questions. I guess I never wondered about those kinds of things because to tell the truth, I'm afraid of Vikings. If they got Mom or you then I'd be all alone."

"I guess I shouldn't have asked you about this." Toothless felt bad about dragging this out of his sister but he had to know if he was really the only one who wanted to know more about Vikings then just how to kill them. "I do know something silly about them."

"What?"

"They get the hiccups. Goodnight." Toothless said. After he was sure that Moonstar was asleep he took out the drawing of Hiccup he made and made a small drawing of what he was going to make. He craved a spare piece of wood that was about the right size and burned some small holes through it and laced some vines through. Then he tested it to see if it would hold the weight or if it would slip. When he was done he was proud of what he made. He took Hiccup's leg the least he could do was give him a new one.

Author's note: Sorry for the delay, I needed someone to proof read and holiday issues were brought up. Astrid's escape attempts will be an important element later on. The reason I chose making shape with rock instead of drawing for the bonding scene is based on my own experience with kids and blocks and how they often get upset when someone take a piece away from something they put the effort to make.


	5. Worst to First

5-From Worst to First.

Bright and early the next morning Toothless had gone to the valley with the new leg and a basket full of plants from the cold storage cave. "Hey Hiccup, look what I got for you. I had to get some quail for my sister first but I got you some apples, a few peaches, and even a whole head of broccoli." Hiccup tossed the broccoli at Toothless making a gagging face. "Okay, I don't like it much either." Hiccup got on his belly and looked up at the clouds going by while eating an apple. This was a perfect chance for Toothless to tie the new leg on. Don't mind me; I'm just minding my own business." Hiccup waved his legs back and forth a few times but Toothless managed to get the leg on. "Hum, not too bad. It's not on to tight or loose. It should support his weight." Just then Hiccup slipped out from under Toothless. At first he took a few steps; the pain from cutting his leg off was gone; then made a run for the hill. The Viking almost slipped down a few times because of the gravel but he made it to the top. Hiccup turned and gave a wave of thanks to Toothless and then walked off into the woods. "Ok I guess I'll see you around buddy. I just hope no one else finds you or we both would be in big trouble."

Later as he made his way to the Arena Toothless ran into Moonstar. "I thought I would watch you train today and see how you're doing. Mom will want to know how it went." She said.

"I'd rather you not. If you saw me torn apart in there it may emotionally scar you for life." Toothless said.

"Well, come to offer emotional support." Lockjaw said as they walked up.

"Yep, but I also had some questions for you, Uncle Lockjaw." Lockjaw was a very close friend of the family so it was very natural the little Dragon looked at him like an uncle.

"Alright sweetie, fire away."

"Well, Toothless and I were talking last night and we got wondering about a couple things about Vikings. Like those thing that carry them to our island that are made of wood and have Dragon heads carved into them, what are they called?"

"Boats."

"Boats, right**. **Well**,** what makes them move?"

"Well, while they do use sticks sometimes to push them along they use the thing at the top to catch the wind like our wings and that pushes them along**. **It's called a sail."

"A sail. Ok, the other thing I was wondering about is**… **well**…** do Vikings have Moms and Dads or friends?"

"Well…" Lockjaw looked nervous. "I'm not really sure about that one. I suppose they do have parents like us or else where do they come from right? But as to friends, I really don't know."

"Oh." Moonstar said, disappointed.

Lockjaw's surprisingly abundant of information got Toothless thinking. "Well I at least know _one_ Viking with a friend, and that friend is _me_. But now that I think about it**,** Hiccup must have others waiting for him to come back, worried about him; friends and family that probably miss him. I need do more for him. Without a ship, it's a long swim back through the Sea of Mists and who knows when they'll raid next**? **Maybe I could fly him home, but I would get lost in the mists. But wait! The Vikings come and go back home all the time! Hiccup _must _know a way back! After training today I'm going to figure out a way how he can lead me to where he can get home!"

"Toothless? Toothless snap out of it!" Lockjaw's voice broke through his thought.

"Oh, sorry. I'm coming!" Toothless called**,** entering the ring. Moonstar looked on from the outside.

"Today is about teamwork, so you're going to be paired up. Toothless you're with Slugcrunch, Hotfoot you're with Rose. Then BitenScratch are together by default.**"**

"Story of our lives." The twin Dragons grumbled.

"Now Vikings also work together; the ones with both Tangle Stones and Long Stabs are extra tricky." A cell door was opened as a nearby water Dragon made steam to cover the Arena. "One Viking throws the stones to disable a target**, **while the other one goes in for the kill. The steam is here to make it hard for you to tell which is which. Trusting your fellow Dragons can keep you alive in dangerous situations like this."

Slugcrunch started to ramble in an attempt to calm himself down. "The Tangle Stone will wrap around most victims. And The Long Stab has been known to go through two Dragons at once. Sometimes…"

"Will you please stop that?" Toothless said, trying to concentrate on staying alive.

In the steam, BitenScratch were confident. "We work together all the time; this will be easy." Scratch said.

"Look! A pair of horns! Fire!" Bite cried and they launched a fire stream.

"Hey!" Rose shouted.

"I'm on your side, remember?" Hotfoot called; it had been his horns mistaken for a Viking's.

"You guys need to work out more. You're so fat we thought you were Vikings." The twins chuckled just before the Bolos wrapped around their neck and their heads dragged back into the mist. "Oh we're hurt we are very much hurt!" BitenScratch wailed, but at least they were still alive. Then the pole of the Long Stabs tripped Rose and Hotfoot off their feet.

"Chances of survival are dwindling to single digits now." Slugcrunch commented nervously, looking very scared. Then, out of the mist stepped out a pair of Vikings that looked practically the same; the Dragons couldn't tell the difference between the two. Slugcrunch then spat out a fireball at one of the Vikings that was throwing something. It burned and three stones fell to the ground. "Oh, the _non_ killing tool." Slugcrunch murmured, before turning to flee.

The other Viking threw her Long Stab at Toothless. He knocked it down but it rolled back to its owner. "Oh come on!" Toothless groaned, not believing his bad luck.

The pair of Viking twirled their weapons getting ready for the kill. "Toothless!" Lockjaw said running in to save him.

"Big brother! No!" Moonstar screamed, afraid that she really would see her brother die.

"I got to do something quick! Hope this works; I'm just glad I saved this." Toothless thought. Forcing something out of his stomach and into his mouth, he opened it to show the Vikings the head of broccoli under his tongue. "Back, back! Don't make me tell you again!" he said in his fiercest voice**, s**tanding on his hind legs while holding his fore legs up, claws out. To the others, it looked like he was ready to breathe fire. The two Viking backed away, repulsed and went back into their cell. Following, Toothless spat then spat the vegetable out into the cell. "Now think about what you've done." He muttered to the now disgusted Vikings before closing the door himself. Everyone looked on in amazement of what the most useless Dragon had done. "So are we done? Because I got some things I need to do…ok, see you guys tomorrow! Not waiting for an answer, Toothless turned and ran out of the arena.

"Who was that and what did he do with my brother?" Moonstar Muttered in shock.

Toothless began carving out a large log, making sure it fit on his back without hindering the movement of his wings. He also made holes for vines to tie it down to himself. The next day, Toothless found Hiccup at a beach trying to leave Snag on a raft, but the waves were too big for him to get out to sea without a sail. When the young Viking returned to the shore, Toothless went in front of him and leaned to show him the saddle, trying to coax Hiccup to get on**. **Instead, the Viking shot him a look on his face that clearly said "You're not getting me on that thing!" Before running as fast as he could in the other direction, leaving Toothless to chase after him.

After much persistence, he was able to persuade Hiccup to get on his back, flying only a short distance before Hiccup slipped off his back and into a small pond. That very night, Toothless modified the saddle with more vines to keep his passenger secure. The next attempt Toothless had a hard time knowing which way Hiccup wanted to and see where he was going,crashing into bushes with purple and green flowers as a result. When Toothless checked to see if his friend was okay, he saw that Hiccup, covered with the pollen of the flowers, had gently drifted off to sleep.

The next day at Viking training, the Crusher had just knocked down Hotfoot a charged toward Toothless. But in his paw, Toothless had the flower and blew some pollen at the attacking warrior, who suddenly drifted off to sleep, just like Hiccup had done. A few Dragons, including the elder, took notice of this improvement in the trainee. Every recruit- except Rose- was asking Toothless how he had done it. While Toothless had liked all this attention, he knew he couldn't give them a straight answer so he quickly thought of an excuse, saying "Oh, I have to get dinner for tonight. Don't want Moonstar to go hungry!" before flying off.

What he really did, however, was go back to Hiccup, who seemed a little stiff after the other day's practice. Getting an idea, Toothless began to scratch his back, continuing when Hiccup seemed to like it, moving his paws all over the place. Until, that is, he reached the spot where the shoulder met the neck. Suddenly, Hiccup went absolutely limp. The unexpected reaction caused Toothless to stare at his paw, a little in awe at what had just happened.

During the next day's training, Rose just barely missed hitting the Chop Chopper with her spikes. As the female Viking came close, Toothless saw that Rose was getting another volley ready so he pinched the Chopper at the same spot as he did with Hiccup. All Rose could do was just stand there with a shocked look on her face. Later, at the watering cavern, Toothless was swarmed by not only most of his classmates, but other Dragons as well. "Back everyone, give our star some room." Moonstar announced.

Rose, on the other hand, was envious. "I'm still going to win. I don't know how he's getting this good all of a sudden but it won't last." She thought.

A few days after that, Toothless had been making some adjustments on the saddle and making a rig that, using the wooden leg, Hiccup could lean certain ways to tell him where to go. Out of boredom, Hiccup wrapped up some vines into a ball and began bouncing it off of a cliff wall. Toothless looked on in fascination. Later that week in training, it was time for a new challenge. "Meet the Ankle Biter." Lockjaw announced. This time, the Stone was covering a much smaller hole; the Dragon teens looked down to see a Viking child with no shell or tools or anything. The kid could have not been more than three years old.

"Ha!" Bite laughed lowering her face down. "I could swallow that thing…" the Ankle Biter leaped onto her face. "Ah! Get it off!" she wailed. While Bite was still screaming, Toothless bounced the ball that Hiccup had made. The child ran after it back into its cell. "Sis you okay?" Scratch asked Bite as Toothless lowered the stone back into place. "Wow, he much better than you ever were." BitenScratch told Rose once Bite had recovered, which did not improve Rose's mood.

Later that day, Rose was practicing launching fire balls and throwing spikes, always imaging them hitting Toothless' face. After one throw, she saw Toothless with the saddle on his back and decided to follow him. She flew above him, trying not to be seen, but Toothless avoided her by ducking into the underbrush, after which Rose landed and kicked some rocks in frustration. Tying himself to a stump, Toothless made notes while gliding about which way to go when Hiccup tilted his leg. After a few of these, a strong gust blew them back, causing a tangle with the vines which meant that Hiccup was stuck on Toothless' back. They waited until nightfall before Toothless snuck back to Rookery where Toothless could get the notes and supplies he need to fix the saddle. He kept the Viking under his wings so no one would see him. But Hiccup was curious, and knocked over a basket with Fire Rocks, attracting the attention of a certain Deadly Nadder. "Toothless! Are you in there?" He heard her call.

With only one more line to fix, Toothless poked out of the tunnel they were in with Hiccup still tied to the Dragon around the corner. "Hi Rose. Hi Rose! Hi…Rose." Toothless rambled nervously.

Hiccup was getting anxious being this close to where so many Dragons lived, and tried to get out of there. "Look, I don't normally care what others do but you've been acting weird." Rose was saying as Hiccup pulled on the vine back Toothless a little bit. "Well, weirder." Finally, Hiccup ran at full speed, pulling Toothless along with him into the tunnel, Rose ran after them, but once again, lost sight of Toothless as he took off into the night with his Viking friend safely on his back.

The next day, after two weeks away, Shadowgale and what was left of the expedition returned to Snag- most of them injured. At the Cliffside, Lockjaw greeted his old friend, noting the dwindled numbers and numerous injuries of the others. "Well, I trust that you found the village at least?" he commented hopefully.

"Not even close." Shadowgale replied as she walked down to the Rookery.

"Ah, excellent." Lockjaw said sarcastically.

"I trust you had a little more success than me." Shadowgale replied.

"Well, if by success you mean your parenting troubles are over with then… yes."

"Congratulations Shadowgale! Everyone is so relieved." A female Dragon called to her then.

"Out with old and in with new right?" a male Dragon added.

"No will miss that old nuisance!" another Dragon laughed.

"The Rookery is throwing a party to celebrate!" yet another shouted.

"He's gone?" Shadowgale asked, fearing the worst after hearing the other Dragon's comments.

"Yes… most afternoons. But who could blame him? The life of a celebrity is very rough. He could barely walk through the Rookery without being swarmed by his new fans." Lockjaw told her with a hint of pride.

"Toothless?" Shadowgale repeated in disbelief.

"Who would have thought it?" Lockjaw agreed, "He seems to this way with the beasts."

A small voice suddenly came to their attention. "Mom!" It was Moonstar. "You won't believe it! He is so cool!"

"Who?" Shadowgale asked.

"Toothless of course!" Moonstar cried, excited**.** With that Shadowgale grabbed Moonstar and began turning her head in different directions.

"Mom what are you doing?" Moonstar asked.

"Checking for head trauma, you _never _say nice things about your brother."

"I'm okay!" Moonstar protested, "He just got really good at fighting those Vikings. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it for myself."

Shadowgale let her daughter go, thinking, "Lockjaw is right, my parenting problems are over!"

"Moonstar, where is your brother?" Shadowgale asked then.

Author's note: That's right Toothless has learned the Vulcan nerve pinch.


	6. Flight

6-Flight

Toothless was flying above Snag with Hiccup. "Okay there bud, we're going to take this nice and slow." He lifted a small wood plate with his notes what push from the steering paddle meant. "Here we go, position three, no four."

Hiccup looked slightly annoyed with the delay they began a large left turn. "All right it's go time, it's go time. Come one buddy, come on buddy!" Noting what the next moves meant Toothless began a dive toward the sea skimming the water with his wing. "Yes it worked!" Toothless was very happy to the system seemed to be working.

His joy over it however distracted him from a cliff wall which he bumped shaking up Hiccup. "Sorry!" Toothless was so worried hitting the cliff that he hit another one. "That was my fault." After that Hiccup gave Toothless a slap on the top of his head. "Yeah, Yeah, I'm on it. Position for uh three."

They then went into a sharp climb soaring above the island. Toothless was ecstatic. He hadn't felt this good about flying since he first learned how. "Yeah! Go baby! Oh this feels great! The wind against my...cheat sheet!" The wind at the high altitude snapped the vine around Toothless' neck that kept the note close. While he tried to grab them he accidently threw Hiccup off!

Toothless dove down trying to grab Hiccup but the Viking was panicking a failing about. "Oh gosh, oh gosh just hang on! Just let me…" Hiccup was suddenly spun around by the air currents and accidently kicked Toothless in the face.

Hiccup managed to climb back on just as they were about to fall below the tree line Toothless spread his wings out and began to glide slowing their descent. Toothless looked at his recovered cheat sheet but with time running out his mind flashed back to when his father first taught him to fly. "Don't be afraid. Trust your instincts." He had said. Toothless tossed away the notes and it was almost as if he also heard his father say. "Trust in him!"

Toothless was filled with a new confidence. Toothless and Hiccup's reaction time got a lot better as they entered a narrow ravine dodging outcroppings every few seconds. At the end they were once again over the sea, Hiccup raised his arms and let out a cheer. Toothless spat out a fireball that blew up into a ring of fire they were heading straight into. "Whoops." Toothless said.

On a nearby island, as the sunset a slightly burned Hiccup offered Toothless an apple. "No thank you I'm fine." From the hill they seated on they could see a small boat come up on shore. From it several Vikings came. From what Toothless saw they came in groups consisting of a male and a female with one or more Ankle Biters. While the adult Vikings gather nearby food the little ones began to play. "Well I guess this is goodbye Hiccup." Toothless said. He knew that this moment would come. But strangely Hiccup made no move to leave. "What is it Hiccup?"

The Viking teen pulled out a small Flying Fang and pointed to a marking on the side that he held it from, a Marking of a white flower.

"Is that an Astrid? I don't understand, but if you're not ready to go home then I guess it's okay." Toothless then looked down at the smaller Viking playing. He saw one with the horns the adults wore which was much too big for him. He was running around chasing the others when sand kicked up by his playmates got into his eyes. The little one began crying and what Toothless assumed was the little Vikings mother picked him up and comforted him. "Looks like you can have a shell over the eyes." Seeing how loving they were to their young and everything he learned from Hiccup Toothless could come to only one conclusion. "Everything we know about you guys is wrong."

Later back at Snag Toothless was scratching lines in the dirt at the fire rock cave when Shadowgale came. "Mom, you're back! Lockjaw's not here."

Shadowgale just looked at her son. "I know. I came looking for you. You've been keeping secrets."

Toothless got really nervous. "I have?"

"How long did you think you could keep it from me?"

"I don't know what you're …"

Shadowgale interrupted. "Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it."

"Oh?"

"So, let's talk, about that Viking."

"Oh boy, Mom I'm so sorry I was going to tell you I just didn't know how." Shadowgale laughed. "You're not upset?"

"What? I was hoping for this."

Now Toothless was really confused. "You were?"

Shadowgale was overjoyed. "And it only gets better! Just until you taste a Vikings meat for the first time! And the first time you sink one of their ships? What a feeling!" Toothless fell down from the shock. "You really had me going there son. All those years of the worst Dragon Snag has ever seen! Oh Stars Above it was rough, but all this time you were holding out on me. Oh blessed Ancestors! With you doing so well in the area, we finally have something to talk about." Shadowgale waited in anticipation while Toothless felt more and more awkward. "There is something I want to tell you for a long time. You look so much like your father."

"I do?" Toothless wondered just how his dad would feel about all this.

"I like to think it means that he's still watching over this family. You are just like him now, be proud of that. You held up your end of the deal."

Toothless let out as big a yawn as he could. "Well I should really get to sleep."

"Yes, you got a big day ahead of you. Good talk."

"So I'll see back at the den. Thanks for stopping by thanks for you know telling me how much like dad I am."

"Good night son." Shadowgale climbed out and thought to herself. "I really wish you were here beloved. Our children are really growing to be true Dragons."


End file.
